Nobody's going anywhere right away; Bridgeport's 13th home opener is Oct. 5, and the Islanders remain in Nassau County for at least one more season.

But if this isn't the Islanders' last year in Uniondale, the following season will be. The team and the Barclays Center already share personnel on the business side. The Islanders own the Sound Tigers and operate Webster Bank Arena. Shuffle the parts, goes the logic.

Harbor Yard Sports and Entertainment's 2011 agreement with the city to operate Webster Bank Arena, though, requires a professional hockey tenant in the building.

The Nassau deal still needs government approval. Chris Botta, a former Islanders executive now with the Sports Business Journal, noted on Twitter that runner-up Madison Square Garden announced in a statement that it plans to watch that process: "So MSG will put up a fight," Botta wrote.

Speculation about who'd succeed the Islanders in Bridgeport is almost as old as the Sound Tigers franchise. The New York Rangers' affiliate, the usual suspect, is beginning a new three-year lease at Hartford's XL Center, with the team reverting to its original Wolf Pack nickname.

Not that leases ever slow gossip in the AHL.

"It's wonderful that Barclays is the developer," Saffan said. "We wholeheartedly support that. We'll see what tomorrow brings."